Happy 68th Birthday, Zeenat Aman! Meet The Glamour Icon Who Broke All Rules In Bollywood
A woman who has been surrounded by controversies all her life, a woman who has always ensured her fashion is on point, a woman who amped the sexy quotient of Bollywood way back in the 70s. It's none other than Zeenat Aman. She came and she conquered.
Aman has been considered as the most stylish and highly influential actress of her time.
Sakina Begum - Friends can be found in the darkest of places. #PanipatLook#Panipat#Dec6@duttsanjay@kritisanon#ZeenatAman@AshGowariker#SunitaGowariker@RohitShelatkar@Shibasishsarkar@agppl@visionworldfilm@RelianceEnt@ZeeMusicCompanypic.twitter.com/3QXWgYHg3l
— Arjun Kapoor (@arjunk26)In the poster, the iconic star can be seen donning heavy traditional jewellery along with a bun. So on her 68th birthday, we decided to take a look at Zeenat Aman who nailed it as the style icon at the golden era and over the years.
1. Zeenat Aman revolutionised BollywoodAt a time when heroines chose to be the damsel in distress or the dutiful wives and bahus on-screen, Zeenat Aman walked into the silver screen setting it on fire. Her western look and unconventional choice of movies immediately showcased that cinema and audience was ready to handle the rising temperature.
From taking a plunge in Hollywood movies (Shalimar), taking up Raj Kapoor's Satyam Shivam Sundaram to a Westernized revenge-seeking action one of a kind heroine in Don, Zeenat was clear about her choice of movies.
Throughout the 70s era, Aman had been one of the most highest paid actresses, and was the most influential of her period. Zeenat was one of the renowned actors known for helping break the traditional taboo of Bollywood.
We're sure the term diva and sensual was coined looking at Zeenat's fashion game. The hippy trend that kick-started from Hare Rama Hare Krishna is still followed by many even today. Winged eyeliner, black beads, tinted sunglasses and orange kurtas were a rage then and are a rage now.
And who can forget the Chura Liya girl who wore a white flowing dress holding a guitar. Yes, Zeenat's fashion on-screen made her a style icon in 70s and 80s especially with Satyam Shivam Sundaram to Laila (Qurbani). Zeenat's off-screen glamour quotient has also been spectacular.
One is an emotional scar that may take a few months or years but eventually heals and one is the physical wound which will remind you of the trauma.. As many of you know, Zeenat was in an abusive relationship with Sanjay Khan. As per reports, in 1980, Zeenat Aman was beaten by her former husband Sanjay Khan.
After calling her to the hotel, Sanjay beat her black and blue. The whole episode was witnessed by his first wife, who had allegedly cheered him on to keep beating Aman. The violence was so extreme that the incident led to cause damage in one of her eyes.
In another case more recently in 2018, Zeenat filed a rape case against businessman Aman Khanna, for incident that took place between 2011-2016. As per reports, he raped, harassed and robbed Zeenat on various occasions.
5. Achieving super stardom in a short span of timeAfter a string of initial flops, Zeenat Aman decided to pack her bags and leave for Malta with her step father and mother, however Dev Anand stopped her for Hare Krishna Hare Rama and that's when she truly arrived.
Her hit song Dum Maaro Dum still remains to be a cult classic. Since then, there was no looking back, Heera Panna, Yaadon Ki Baraat, Roti, Kapda Aur Makaan and Dharam Veer only gave more popularity and box office collections.
But her massive publicised film Satyam Shivam Sundaram not only became successful but was also heavily criticised. This was the first time in the history of Bollywood where an A-lister actress exposed to such great extent, It was later called the 'work of art'.
Zeenat was famous by 1980s and enjoyed the cult status given to her by filmmakers and audience. But there is no denying that the actress had a soft spot for married men. She fell in love with Sanjay Khan and married him for a year.
She got married again from 1985 to 1998 to Mazhar Khan with whom she has two kids. In both the marriages, Zeenat claims she was unhappy. Speaking once to Times of India, Zeenat had earlier said,
"Mazhar never wanted me to grow as an individual or as an artist. He always wanted me to be with the kids and be at home. During the very first year of marriage I realised I had made a huge mistake, but I decided to live by it and make it work. I tried to make it work for another 12 years. There was no light at the end of the tunnel for me. There was not a single moment of happiness or joy during those 12 years. But I still tried making it work."
Zeenat has contributed to Bollywood in ways only she could have back then. From fashion, music, movies, Zeenat gave a brand new direction to Indian cinema. So on the occasion of her birthday, lets check out her all time popular song.
Makes you fall in love with her, right?
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